Zeta Gundam: The Victorious Universe
by Nanaki
Summary: See what Zeta Gundam could have been, if only Kamille had gotten what he wanted most... One small change to one event may only make a small ripple at first, but someday it will be a wave... Reviews appreciated.
1. Prologue and 1: The One Moment

**Zeta Gundam: The Victorious Universe**

**Prologue**

By Nanaki

"The Zeta! What's happening?!" Paptimus Scirocco finally began to sound a bit concerned, and Kamille would have smiled, if he wasn't already so tired and sick at heart. Nevertheless, the Zeta began to radiate a brilliant purple light, and Kamille felt determination welling up inside him, along with something else that wasn't easy to describe. "Is... Is this some kind of weapon that I've never seen before?!"

"You'll never understand, because you think that war is some kind of game!" Kamille shouted scornfully. "You can't comprehend the power that's flowing through my body!"

Scirocco couldn't deny that Kamille was emitting a particularly strong field of psychic pressure right now, but to think that it would somehow allow his mediocre Zeta to defeat The O was just ludicrous. "What kind of power are you talking about, boy? How could something so intangible possibly defeat a mobile suit?"

"Because..." Kamille faltered for a moment, but then he felt the presence that he'd been aching for during all these months surround him.

"It's because Kamille's in a machine that can channel that power." Four stated succinctly.

"Yes, the Zeta Gundam." Rosamia agreed cheerfully.

"Was that… women's voices?" Scirocco's voice had gone from scornful to concerned again. Just how many people did Kamille have in that cockpit? Then he realized that there couldn't be anyone else. What the Zeta had already been through in this battle would have ensured that anyone not firmly strapped into a pilot's seat would have been at least knocked out, if not killed.

Kamille didn't give him time to ponder this, though. "Well, you still wanna fight?!" The Zeta charged forward, and before Scirocco's finger could even begin to tighten on the trigger, it had cleanly sliced The O's beam cannon in half. Scirocco backed up, expecting Kamille to press his advantage, but the Zeta blasted away from him instead. Kamille knew that, even if his trick worked, it would still take a while to blast through The O's incredibly thick armor, so there was only one thing to do. He reconfigured the Zeta into its space fighter mode, then blasted back at Scirocco at top speed. "Aaauuuuggggghhhh!!!"

Scirocco almost laughed as he calmly directed The O to blast up above the Jupitris, but his amusement was replaced by a sudden panic as reality set in. "The O! The controls are dead!" In his displays, the Zeta was rapidly growing larger. "What's wrong?! Why isn't it moving?!"

"Begone from this world!!!" Kamille roared, and Scirocco could do nothing but watch as the Zeta's nose first filled up, then smashed through his display screens. After all the hundreds of miles the Zeta had traveled during the battle, at the end, one foot made all the difference. Since The O's armor was so tough, the cockpit remained airtight even as it was breached. One foot less, and Scirocco would have walked away. Six inches less, and he would have had to wait for his men to cut him out, but he still would have been all right. As it was, the Zeta's nose stopped short of completely cutting him in half, but most of his vital organs were squished into a bloody pulp, and his pelvis and lower spine were completely pulverized.

" I... I won't die alone!" Scirocco made a fist. It didn't hurt as much as he thought it would, but he knew that was only because the damage was so severe. He tried to remain in an upright position, but something else within him snapped, and he sprawled over the Zeta's nose. "I'm gonna take your soul with me when I go... Ugh... Kamille... Bidan..."

Kamille slowly raised his head. There was a ringing in his ears, and for a moment, he though he had injured his left eye, until he realized it was just the face shield of his helmet that had cracked. "Sci... Scirocco... Is it finally over?" He got his answer when The O began to radiate a brilliant blue light. "Huh? That... That light! It's getting brighter..." Kamille raised his hand up to his eyes, but even through the flesh of his palm, the glow still increased. "It's blinding me..." Then, Kamille realized what was happening. "No!" He shouted at Scirocco. His hands instantly hit the Zeta's reverse thrusters, but his mobile suit now seemed to be as dead as he had made The O. Now that he concentrated, he could feel Scirocco's mental pressure surrounding him again.

'Don't tell me you learned all this just from watching me!' Kamille shouted mentally, hoping he wouldn't get the answer that soon followed.

'I didn't get to be where I am by being slow on the uptake, boy!' Scirocco's voice sounded smug again, though Kamille thought he could feel the mental pressure begin to diminish. Then, his vision went black, and he felt like something was trying to tug him out of his own body.

He could fight it, he knew. Scirocco's presence was steadily growing weaker, and there was a fair chance Kamille could beat him. But, at the end of the day, he just didn't feel up to it. Almost everyone he cared about was dead already, and the prospect of joining them suddenly didn't seem so bad… Part of his brain seemed to be telling him that this sudden apathy might also be Scirocco's doing, but by then, it was too late. The Zeta seemed to fall away beneath him, then the hulking form of the Jupitris followed. Finally, even the gigantic explosions of the battle receded into the distance as he raced up into the stars. 'Fine, be a sore loser if you want,' Kamille thought smugly. 'The Titans are practically demolished, and Axis won't be able to beat the AEUG on their own.'

'Just who exactly is the loser here?' Scirocco demanded. 'You've left the fate of this world in the hands of Amuro, Char, and Haman! What kind of miserable future do you think those three will create?' Scirocco's presence didn't seem to be getting stronger or weaker now. He was just... there.

'What kind of future... I have no idea.' Kamille admitted. 'But the world will be better off than it would have been with you in charge.' But before his battle with Scirocco continued, in whatever strange new realm of existence he seemed to be entering, his mind drifted back to that one pivotal moment. The one moment where he really felt that he'd failed. The one moment that could have made all the difference...

.

"Everyone is breaking down,  
Searching too long for a wish.  
You're falling, looking for a place to land,  
Wounded and unable to stop shaking." - Gundam Seed Destiny, Opening Song One: "Ignite"

.

**Zeta Gundam: The Victorious Universe**

**Chapter 1: The One Moment**

By Nanaki

"Four, can you hear me?" Kamille called into the net. For a second, the Psyco Gundam's monstrous face was his only reply, but then he heard her voice, sounding resigned.

"Stop fooling around. Just hurry and put me out of my misery…" At that, his heart began to break all over again, but it steeled his resolve at the same time. He would stop her misery all right, but NOT by killing her. He'd rather die himself.

Kamille opened his cockpit hatch, and squinted as the wind hit his eyes. "I'm on my way over. Open up your hatch!"

"Stop!" Four's voice sounded in his helmet, but there was a quaver in her voice, and it was hard to tell if she meant it.

"I'm coming over!" Kamille stretched a hand out. She didn't reply, but after a moment, the Psyco Gundam lifted up the Mark II until their cockpits were even, then its hatch whooshed open. "Four…"

She seemed to be staring at nothing, her eyes glazed over, but they quickly focused. "You're… crazy." She stated, but there was a slight smile on her face, and there seemed to be affection in her voice.

"No… But there's something I haven't told you yet." Kamille forged ahead.

"Yes? What is it?" She asked, sounding genuinely curious. It should have filled him with hope, but Kamille felt that something was off, as if she had changed moods too fast.

"I want to tell you about my parents… and how they died." He started, kneeling down in front of her. "They were caught in the battle between the AEUG and the Titans… and they died before my eyes. Before that I used to live in Green One of Side 7. That's also where I went to high school. My dad was a famous mobile suit designer. In fact, he's the one who designed the Gundam Mark II. My mom was a specialist in materials engineering, and worked with him on the development of the Mark II. My dad also had a mistress. My mom knew all about it but she didn't say a thing. Do you wanna know why?"

"Tell me." She said, her voice full of apparently real concern.

"My mom enjoyed her work too much." Kamille shook his head in disgust. "A girl I've known ever since I was little talks to me like she's taken the place of my mom. 'You should stop biting your nails, Kamille!' It's always, 'Stop it Kamille!' I never liked hearing my name. Because Kamille isn't a boy's name, it's a girl's name. I hated it! I always did."

Four was clearly smiling now. "And then?"

"And then, I began taking karate lessons, flying a homo avis, and started building mobile suits. I just wanted to prove to everyone that I was a man…" Kamille was surprised to find tears in his eyes. Why was he being weak when she most needed him to be strong? Although… she was sitting there patiently, letting him pour his heart out. Maybe she already understood. He hoped so, anyway.

"Go on." She prompted him.

Kamille looked up at her through blurry eyes. "I just… I mean… What am I talking about? Four, why is that? Why am I telling you this?"

As Kamille buried his head in her lap, Four gently placed her hands on his helmet. "I don't know. Kamille… Can I ask you again? Do you still hate the name your parents gave you?"

"No, I like it now. After all, it's my name." Kamille forced a smile onto his face as he raised his head again.

"I see." Four smiled gently one last time, then calmly reached down and pointed a gun in his face.

"Huh?" Kamille's eyes widened in surprise.

"Let's… Let's just go back to where we both started." Her expression turned severe. "We're not suited for each other at all."

"Are you serious? No…" Kamille tentatively reached a hand out, only to jerk it back as a deafening bang filled the cockpit, and a bullet raced past his right shoulder. "Uh! Four!"

"Get out of here! It's over!" She shouted over the ringing in her ears.

"No… wait!" Kamille was surprised to find his legs slowly backing him toward the open hatch. He wanted to get closer to her, not farther away. But she had such a severe look on her face…

"Don't come near me. Don't come near me or I'll really shoot you, understand?!" Suddenly, he did understand, and he was mad at himself for taking so long. After all, his defection to the AEUG hadn't been an instantaneous process, and in his case, the Titans had destroyed the only things they could have used to blackmail him with almost right away. That wasn't true for her. Kamille felt drained, and he wanted to just give both of them some time to think things over. However, he was also getting a stronger and stronger feeling that this was a 'now or never' kind of situation. Slowly, he began walking back toward Four.

"Four… I'm sorry for rambling on like that. But that stuff about my parents… that wasn't what I hadn't told you yet."

She kept her gun trained on him, her arm steady. "Kamille, whatever you think you're about to say, it won't do any good."

Kamille put his arms down next to her thruster controls, and her gun arm began to tremble a bit as she saw that it was now pointed right at his heart. "Four, the 'something I haven't told you yet'… I love you." She gasped, her arm jerked to the right, and the next thing Kamille knew, he was sitting on the curved cockpit floor, staring dumbly at the trail of blood that was quickly flowing down his left arm.

Four looked surprised at her own actions for a second, but then her cold look returned, and she trained the gun on him. "Kamille, what part of 'We're not suited for each other at all,' didn't you understand?"

"Ugh…" Kamille groaned as he lurched back to his feet. "All of it."

Her eyes narrowed. "Kamille, I'm not kidding around. You need to get out of here, right now."

Kamille staggered forward again. "Don't tell me to run. I don't want to hear it. Four, I'm not going anywhere. Not without you!" Kamille wasn't sure what happened, but the next thing he knew, he was lying facedown on the curved floor, and now neither of his arms wanted to work. When he finally succeeded in turning over, he saw that Four's gun arm was shaking, and there were tears rolling down her cheeks now.

"Please…" She said, her voice full of desperation. "Please just go."

Kamille felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he realized he might actually die here. 'I guess I should have tried to get the gun away from her first.' He reflected. 'Oh well, too late now.' He somehow managed to get to his feet again, and saw that now Four's eyes were full of fear, not anger. "Four," he began, sounding exasperated, "I don't care if I have to club you over the head and drag you out of here! If you decide later that you were right all along, then okay. But right now, you're coming with me! I won't leave you behind!!"

"Kamille…" The affection returned to her voice for a minute, but then her face took on an anguished look. "No!!" Kamille ducked as the sounds of gunshots filled the cockpit, but when he looked up, it was her control display that was full of holes, not himself. Four pulled her leg back, then landed a kick that shattered the remains of the display into several hundred pieces. The pieces that landed in the streams of Kamille's blood seemed to stick there, while the rest rolled to the center of the curved floor. Four let the gun fall out of her shaking hand, then rushed over to Kamille and threw her arms around his neck. "Kamille… I'm so sorry." She whispered, tears streaming down her face as she buried it in his chest.

It took every ounce of willpower Kamille possessed to keep from whimpering with the pain, and there was no way he could return the embrace, but he managed to savor the moment nonetheless. "I knew… you would be." He whispered into her hair. He happened to glance outside, and saw that, while they weren't exactly in free fall, their thrusters hadn't kept them at a steady altitude the whole time. Very reluctantly, he ended the moment. "This isn't over yet. We have to go. Now."

"Right." Four grabbed her helmet, and snapped it back into place. Kamille staggered out to the hatch, Four right beside him. "Can you make it across?"

"I didn't come this far to give up now." He forced a smile. "But ladies first." Four gracefully leapt from her hatch to the Mark II's, then grabbed on to the hatch frame, and turned to help Kamille. He rocked back and forth experimentally a few times, then jumped. However, he couldn't use his injured arms to steady himself properly, so he ended up crashing to the deck face first. Four quickly helped him up, then he collapsed into the pilot's seat.

"Hold on, I think…" Kamille probed his mouth with his tongue for a second, then he leaned to the side of the cockpit opposite where Four was standing, and spat a bloody gob onto the floor. Glancing at it for a second, he saw that it did indeed contain a tooth, just as he'd suspected. "Oh well, I'm not worried about stuff that can be replaced." Now he turned back to Four. "That's why I had to save you, Four. You're irreplaceable. Not just to me, but to the world as well. The world needs to see what the Titans really are, and you… you can show them…" Four was about to say something, but Kamille looked at the altimeter and saw he didn't have much time to spare. He quickly got his hands on the thruster controls. Once there, they went forward about half an inch, then didn't move any more. "Augh!!" Kamille winced, and fresh blood appeared at wounds that had only begun to clot. In the viewscreens, the Psyco Gundam's head slowly began to slide downward, but not very fast. Kamille leaned back in the seat, breathing heavily.

"Kamille… Maybe you should let me do it." Four gently placed a hand on his arm.

"Huh?" Kamille found himself surprisingly reluctant to let anyone else behind the Mark II's controls, but she was right. There was no way he could pilot it in his condition. "All right." He climbed out of the seat, and Four climbed in. He tried to stay standing next to the seat, but he only managed it for a second before he slid down to the floor. "Ugh…"

"Kamille!" Four leaned over to check on him.

"Don't worry about me." He groaned. "Just get back to the Audhumla…"

Four frowned as she saw that he couldn't even keep his eyes open. But before she raced off to the Audhumla, there was one thing she had to do. She dropped the Mark II back in front of the Psyco Gundam's monstrous face, then shoved its beam rifle into the Psyco's still open hatch. "You!" She snarled. "You're no friend! You're just another form of control. Even if my life is nothing but suffering, it's time to try a new kind. Goodbye!" With that, she unleashed a blast right in the Psyco's head. Thanks to its impressive armor, it didn't completely disintegrate, but the head and the bottoms of its feet instantly disappeared, and its thrusters stopped working as smoke erupted from them. Four waited until the smoking hulk of the Psyco Gundam disappeared into the ocean, then blasted off for the Audhumla at top speed.

If anyone had been paying careful attention to the fight between the Mark II and the Psyco Gundam, they might have noticed that, in the instant the Mark II fired, it seemed to be encased in blue flames. As it was, Kamille and Four's battle was hardly the only one going on that day, so the phenomenon went unobserved.

For the moment.

.

"I'm not afraid of the power to change...  
In the deep rumbling that lies ahead." - Gundam Seed Destiny, Opening Song One: "Ignite"


	2. End of the Chase

**Zeta Gundam: The Victorious Universe**

**Chapter 2: End of the Chase**

By Nanaki

Amuro Ray let a few more missiles fly as he blasted past the Sudori's starboard side, but he had to keep most of his attention on its annoyingly persistent gun turrets. He scanned around once again for Kamille, but the Mark II was nowhere in sight. 'Looks like it's all up to me.' He grimaced, before a smile crept back onto his face. 'Well, there's a familiar thought.' As he was circling around behind the Sudori to make another run, he finally saw the Mark II, making a beeline back to the Audhumla.

"Kamille, did you... destroy that mobile armor?" Amuro's breath left his lungs momentarily as he had to let his sled free fall in order to avoid a few more shots.

"It's... defeated." Kamille's voice came back over the net.

"Then where are you going? I could use your help here!"

"Can't be helped." Kamille's strained voice came back again. "The Gundam will be back in... just a minute!"

Amuro recognized the fragmented way that Kamille was talking. "Kamille, are you injured?"

"One... might say that." There was the faintest trace of amusement in Kamille's voice. With that, the Gundam settled in the Audhumla's hangar bay, and Amuro turned his attention back to the Sudori. Kamille was probably planning to have one of the Nemo pilots come out in his place, but Amuro didn't think that was a very good idea. Either way, he probably wasn't going to get much help.

.

Kamille tried to jump out of the kneeling Gundam's cockpit, but he didn't quite make it this time either. He hit the deck with a heavy thud, and couldn't find the energy to move again. "Kamille, wait until they can help you!" Four's voice sounded muffled in his ringing ears.

"Don't worry... about me." Kamille groaned as a couple of technicians came running toward him. He managed to flip himself onto his back, but he couldn't help yelling as all of his weight was pressed onto his bullet-filled shoulder. "What ammo do we have left for the bazooka?" He asked the techs.

"Um..." They both scratched their heads, thinking that bazooka ammo shouldn't be his primary concern right now. "We have four of the exploding scatter shot shells left." One of them finally answered. "You used up all of the scattering shotgun shells agains the Asshimar..."

"It'll do." Kamille said. "Get it!"

The techs immediately ran to a control console in the wall, and the Gundam's bazooka began to move forward, suspended from gigantic chains. However, one of them couldn't help turning back to Kamille. "Sir, who's that in the Gundam?"

"The only possible replacement pilot for me." Kamille snapped. "Don't worry about it. I'll sort things out with Hayato later. Ugh!" Kamille grimaced as another wave of pain shot through his body. Then, he looked back up at Four, who looked very nervous.

"Four, I know you can do this! I'm sure the Mark II's controls are simpler than yours were. Plus, I'm betting you wouldn't mind delivering a little payback to the Sudori. If you can hit the engines with that, it'll pretty much take care of everything!" Now he turned back to the techs. "Get a sled ready too!"

"Kamille... Thanks, for everything." Four said as the Gundam unhooked the bazooka from the chains, then got a firm grip on it. "I'll be back soon."

Kamille let a smile creep onto his face as the Mark II kneeled down on a sled, then winced at the roar of its engines taking off. Once that was gone, it was replaced by the only slightly less noisy sound of several Nemos at the rear door opening up with their beam rifles. Why hadn't they been doing that the whole time? Oh well, everyone probably ran to the gun turrets at first.

"Sir, ah... Is anything broken?" One of the techs was standing over him again.

Kamille managed to get to his hands and knees, but once he was there, he knew there was no way he was going to make it to the bathroom. He wasn't even going to get his helmet off, so he'd have to have good aim. "If you're asking... if it's safe to move me... then the answer is yes." He replied, arms shaking, trying to hold back the flood of saliva in his mouth that only occurs if one either smells something really delicious, or else is incredibly nauseous. "But... you might want to wait a minute... Because I think it would be a good idea... if I stayed here and threw up for a while." Kamille's arms were shaking even more now, because he didn't want to, but he could tell it was inevitable. The techs took a step back from him. "And even if it's not a good idea... I'm going to anyway." And with that, he couldn't hold it back any longer.

.

Four found a wide variety of emotions competing for her attention as she rocketed back toward the Sudori, but anxiety seemed to be winning the contest. "Kamille, is that you?" The voice that pretty much every pilot in the world recognized as belonging to Amuro Ray sounded in her helmet almost immediately.

"What? Kamille's going back out?" A different voice that she didn't recognize came over the net now.

"Hayato, what's going on?" Amuro asked.

"Hold on..." Hayato replied, sounding distracted. "What?! The techs are telling me that Kamille's collapsed on the deck, with a bullet in each shoulder!"

"What?! Who's in the Gundam?!" Amuro demanded, and Four realized it was time to break the silence.

"Um... me." She said softly.

"Who's that?" Hayato asked, sounding more exasperated than concerned.

"...I know." Amuro said after a pause. "Are you sure?" He asked, and Four realized he was talking to her.

"Well, Kamille wasn't in any shape to fight, and you were a bit busy, so... After the two of you, who better to fly the Gundam?" A slight smile appeared on her face.

"Well then... Let's go!" Enthusiasm returned to Amuro's voice. "I'll try to keep their attention on me, so you can hit the engines."

"Roger that!" Four answered, and with that, she arrived at the Sudori. She acted like she was going to strafe the belly, but she shot up above the cockpit at the last second, heading over the spine of the mammoth jet. She had hoped that she'd have time to fire at point blank range, but the Sudori's gun turrets were doing such a good job that she had to blast over it at full speed to avoid them. She immediately turned around and shot from the hip. A field of explosions over fifty yards high and almost three hundred yards long blossomed in a perfect line with the enemy Garuda's engines, but it had already traveled too far forward by the time the shell detonated, and it only got a little rattled.

Several of the gun turrets immediately turned to fire at the Gundam, but since Four was almost directly behind the Sudori's tail, they weren't very accurate. She immediately pulled the trigger to launch another shell, only to realize that the second shell hadn't loaded properly yet. She began to lower the bazooka to give it time, only to have the shell pick THEN to launch. The field of explosions blossomed underneath the Sudori's tail, and the recoil of the shot forced her up above the Garuda, where many more of the gun turrets could get a bead on her. The remaining crew aboard the Garuda seemed to have realized that Four was carrying a weapon that could hit pretty much all of their engines simultaneously, and as a result just about every gun turret on the jet was trying to bring her down, even the ones that didn't have a chance in hell of actually hitting her.

This situation did have an up side, though. "Amuro, they're concentrating on me now! Go for it!" Four shouted into the net.

"I'm on it." Amuro responded calmly. With that, the Rick Dias' sled rushed up above the Sudori's starboard wing, and unleashed a barrage of missiles at point blank range. The starboard engines vanished into a cloud of fire and shrapnel, but Amuro was prevented from inflicting the same damage on the port wing as several of the port gun turrets fired straight upward, forcing him to break off the run and drop back behind the Sudori. "Doesn't matter anyway." He announced. "I'm empty."

Now though, many of the turrets were focusing on the Rick Dias again, and Four could concentrate on something other than simply dodging. Plus, none of the turrets were bothering to fire at the Audhumla anymore, so the Nemos in the hangar bay had kneeled down, and were laying down a hail of fire that would have shredded a whole squadron of Hizacks. The Sudori's heavy armor was protecting it so far, but no armor could stand up to a beam rifle forever. Four decided to take a few precautions before delivering her final strike. She raced up to about fifty yards away from the Sudori's starboard side, and fired her third shell. Most of the starboard gun turrets, and indeed, most of the starboard hull, vanished in the rain of explosions.

The Sudori was still attempting to catch up to the Audhumla, but with half its engines gone, the Audhumla was rapidly gaining distance and altitude. The Gundam's audio sensors picked up the sound of the Rick Dias' head vulcans firing, and most of the gun turrets on the port side seemed to fall silent too. As the smoke cleared, Four could see the shuttle boosters in the Sudori's hangar bay, and she cursed for not remembering them earlier. It was too late now though. The Sudori's destruction was pretty much assured, and that left her free to use her last shell for personal reasons.

Four directed the Gundam to hover just in front of the cockpit, and she could clearly see the wide-eyed form of Ben Wooder inside. "Captain Wooder." She announced over an open channel, her voice as cold as she could make it.

"Ensign Four? You're in the Mark II?" Wooder sounded happy about this, so he obviously didn't comprehend what was going on. No surprise there. "What happened to the Psyco Gundam?"

"I destroyed it." She replied calmly. She could see his brow furrowing as he struggled to understand the implications of this, and she would have laughed, if she didn't hate him so much.

"You... Ensign Four, do you think this kind of behaviour will help you get your memories back?" Wooder predictably tried to use the only piece of leverage he had.

"Nope." A feral grin appeared on Four's face. "You know, the funny thing is, that's not quite the trump card it's been for you up until now. If you ever had my memories in the first place, which I DOUBT, you never had any intention of returning them to me! They were the leverage that forced me to obey you!" The smile disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, and Four found herself fighting back tears now. "And yet... because of that tiny little ray of non-hope, I almost killed the only person in this world who loves me!" Wooder seemed to be saying something, but if her helmet's speakers were broadcasting it, she couldn't hear it. "He was actually... CRYING, at the thought that he might lose me. Me! The living weapon, the instrument of destruction." She brushed a tear from her eye, and her expression grew cold once again. "But Wooder, I doubt that anyone will cry over your loss." Four's finger tightened on the trigger. Outside, unnoticed by anyone, the Mark II's finger tightened on the trigger of the bazooka as well. "I know I won't." She finished. Wooder seemed to be shouting frantically now, but she still couldn't hear him. So she fired.

The shell smashed into the cockpit before detonating, and Four waited until she actually saw Wooder's form enveloped by the flames before she directed her sled to race up and away, back toward the Audhumla. The explosions reached the shuttle boosters in the cargo bay, and the blinding detonation of the shuttle boosters reached the fuel lines below the deck. The Sudori's valiant port side engines joined their starboard brethren in becoming molten heaps of slag, mere moments before the wing disintegrated completely.

With a blinding explosion, dozens of pieces of the Sudori ceased their forward progress and fell down to the ocean in a parabolic course. "Well... Guess we're in the clear." Hayato's voice came over the net again. "Everyone okay?"

"I'm fine here." Amuro replied. "Four? How about you?"

"No damage here." Four said softly. "At least, no damage that I hadn't already caused with the Psyco Gundam."

"THAT'S who's in the Mark II?!" Hayato demanded. "The pilot of that mobile armor?! What was Kamille thinking?"

"The same thing I've been thinking, for the last seven years." Amuro replied, before Four could think of anything to say.

"Amuro?" Hayato's voice was a lot quieter now.

"Never mind." Amuro shook his head.

Four took advantage of the following silence. "Is Kamille... How is Kamille?" She asked, frowning.

"Um... Hold on. I'll get a report." Hayato responded. "It's actually only been a few minutes, you know." They waited patiently, until Hayato started to speak again, apparently still talking on another channel too. "Okay. Yeah, that's right. All right, apparently Kamille's just got flesh wounds. They say his normal suit slowed the bullets, or his shoulder sockets would've been pretty much pulverized. In any case, he won't be doing any flying for a while."

By then, the Rick Dias and the Mark II were slowly settling down in the Audhumla's hangar bay. "So, our assault on the New Guinea base just got more interesting." Amuro said.

"You can say that again." Hayato agreed. "I'm gonna be busy up here for a little while, but I'll be down to talk to you pretty soon." With that, the net went quiet. As Four opened up the Gundam's hatch, she found Amuro already standing at the front of her sled.

"Feel like coming out?" He asked, a smile on his face.

"Not really." Four stared at her knees. "Everything's changed so fast and..."

"And you're the one who shot Kamille." He finished for her.

She bowed her head. "Yes. Because I was afraid, I... I almost killed him."

Amuro was quiet for a second, then he smiled again. "Well, if he thought you were going to do it again, he probably wouldn't have let you take the Gundam."

Four couldn't help smiling a bit at that. "Thanks, Ray-san." She used the Japanese honorific for his name because, to her, it sounded a lot better than "Mr. Ray."

"Amuro works just fine." He replied genially.

"Amuro!" He turned as Beltorchika came running into the hangar bay, a worried look on her face. "Are you okay?" She stopped short in front of him, checking for injuries.

"I'm fine, thanks to Four." He smiled.

At that, Beltorchika looked into the Gundam's open hatch, and spotted Four huddled in the seat. "Uh, hi." She said, surprised, then elbowed Amuro in the ribs.

"Oh, right." Amuro looked sheepish for a second. "Four, this is Beltorchika Irma. Beltorchika, this is Four... Uh, well, I don't know the last name, actually."

"Neither do I." Four sighed. "They call me Four Murasame, since I was the fourth one at the Murasame Newtype Lab."

"Murasame Newtype Lab?" Beltorchika exclaimed, before Amuro's glare could quiet her.

"Oh! Hold on a second..." Four opened up the Mark II's first aid kit, pulled out a square of gauze, and began fumbling around on the floor. She came up a second later with Kamille's tooth, and quickly wrapped the gauze around it. "I hope it's not too late to save this..." She trailed off, coming partway out of the cockpit.

Amuro raised his eyebrows. "He lost a tooth? Don't tell me you punched him too!" Four stared at him in complete shock for a second, before she realized he was kidding. "Sorry," Amuro said, "I guess it's a little early for jokes."

"Can we go see Kamille now?" Four was staring at the crumpled gauze in her hand, as she finally stepped off the sled onto the floor of the hangar bay.

Amuro thought for a second. "They're probably working on him right now. Tell you what... I'll take that," he took the gauze from Four's hand, "and I'll come get you when Kamille's ready for visitors. Why don't you let Beltorchika show you around a little, and maybe get something to eat?"

"O...okay." Four stammered. It amazed Amuro that someone who'd been ruthlessly determined to shoot down the Audhumla fifteen minutes ago could be so nervous now. The Psyco Gundam's combat system must have really been something.

"But Amuro, I wanted to talk to you about..." Beltorchika trailed off as Amuro shook his head.

He saw that she was getting that stubborn expression on her face, so he mouthed, _It's important_. Beltorchika sighed and turned away.

"Okay, this way." Beltorchika waved for Four to follow her, and the cyber-newtype numbly followed. "The room that passes for a mess hall is down this way..." Amuro waited until the door whooshed shut behind them, then he went the other way, toward an unoccupied room that served for a doctor's office, though they didn't have an actual doctor, either. That was something they'd have to fix, if the Audhumla was going to become a permanent headquarters.

.

"Augh!!!" Amuro jumped back as he pulled the door open, and Kamille's shout assaulted his ears. Inside, one of the crewmembers with some basic first aid training had just pulled the bullet out of Kamille's left shoulder. He had cut the top of Kamille's normal suit off, leaving a small ring of material around each bullet. Now, he took a scalpel to the material around the newly empty bullet hole, part of which was melted to Kamille's skin. "Son of a bitch!!" Kamille shouted. "Don't CUT it! Just rip it off!"

"It'll heal a lot cleaner if I cut it." The medic responded calmly.

"Don't we have any morphine, or anything like that?" Kamille demanded.

"Nope. I've complained about that myself, but we forgot to order any in Hong Kong."

"Well, then hurry and- Augh!! GOD DAMN IT!!" Amuro winced along with Kamille as a fair amount of skin came off along with the ring of melted normal suit. Kamille turned to glare at the medic. "Buddy, if I could use my arms, I'd punch you."

"It's better this way Kamille, trust me." Amuro said, unzipping his normal suit as he moved to stand at the foot of the bed. "You don't want to drag it out." The medic moved to Kamille's other shoulder.

"YOU got shot?" Kamille demanded. "When was this? I thought you were the legendary ace who made it through the war without a scratch."

"Bright made sure to keep it quiet." Amuro smirked. "But we had our share of run-ins with Zeon foot soldiers, as well as mobile suits."

"Well, live and- Aaauuggghhhh!!! Damn it all to hell!!!" Kamille yelled as the bullet came out of his right shoulder. "You could at least warn me first!"

"It's over already." The medic replied evenly. "But if you want a warning, brace yourself." Kamille clenched his jaw and shut his eyes tight as the medic cut away the melted normal suit from around the second bullet wound. Amuro suddenly rubbed his head as he felt an impression of the pain Kamille was feeling. Then, it was over. "All right, let's get you patched up." The medic grabbed some squares of gauze and a roll of medical tape, then began to wash the new trails of blood away from Kamille's wounds. "Frankly, I don't know if you need stitches, but we should definitely get you to a doctor the next time we're in a city."

At the sight of the gauze, Amuro remembered the bunch of it in his hand. "Oh, Four found your tooth." He let his palm open, and the gauze unfolded by itself. He turned to the medic. "I don't suppose you know how to..."

"I'm afraid not." The medic shook his head. "I don't know the first thing about dental work."

"Oh well." Kamille tried to shrug, and instantly regretted it. "Like I told Four, I'm not worried about stuff that can be replaced." Now, his eyes seemed to be focusing on something that wasn't there. "Four... Is she okay? Where is she?"

"She's fine, Kamille. Beltorchika took her to get something to eat, since I didn't think you'd want her to see you like... you just were." Amuro set Kamille's tooth down on a dresser that was bolted to the floor. "All right, I'm going to get changed, now that I know you'll survive. And Kamille?"

"What?" Kamille sounded exasperated, like he was expecting some kind of lecture.

"Congratulations." Amuro smiled warmly. "You've managed to do what I've spent the last seven years wishing I could have done. Maybe history doesn't always repeat itself after all."

.

"Did you get through to the Argama?" Hayato asked the man seated at the communications console after he finished getting the various damage reports.

"Yes sir. They're retreating for now. They say they'll be ready to receive a shuttle again about an hour after we arrive at the New Guinea base tomorrow." He reported.

"Well, sounds like they have some faith in us!" Hayato smiled. "I'd like to say I'm flattered, but I'm a little nervous too. I'm sure we can take the base, but securing a shuttle in under an hour might be a tall order."

"Oh, crap!" The shout rang out from another section of the bridge.

"What's up?" Hayato walked over to what had been designated the "intelligence area".

"Director, take a look at this weather satellite image." The man gestured to his screen.

Hayato squinted for a second, but it didn't take him long to realize what he was seeing. After years living in Florida, he was familiar with hurricanes. This particular one looked to be about one hundred fifty miles northeast of the northern coast of New Guinea, and it was over 200 miles across. "I take it this is heading for the coast?" Hayato sighed.

"Yes indeed. Typhoon Enuka is currently heading southwest at about fifteen miles per hour, and it's a category 3."

"Oh boy." Hayato cracked his knuckles. "A category 3 hurricane due to arrive at the exact same time we are. And where is the eye expected to make landfall?"

"Um..." The crewman called up another satellite image. "According to projections, just south of Madang."

"The New Guinea base is just south of Madang." Hayato said dryly.

"Well... yeah."

"Yeah." Hayato nodded grimly. "All right, it's possible that we can use this to our advantage. I just have no idea how at the moment. I'm going to go talk to Amuro. He's probably in Kamille's room."

.

Four came to a stop as someone came into the hall just ahead of her. "Oh, you must be the one who flew the Mark II." He said, stopping. Then he extended his hand. "Hayato Kobayashi. Glad to meet you."

"Uh... hi." Four shook his hand as Beltorchika impatiently tapped a foot behind her. Four could tell what Kamille had meant when he'd said "they're too busy to know me," about Beltorchika and Amuro. Beltorchika definitely had other things on her mind at the moment. But then again, she did too. "Four Murasame... is the name I'm stuck with, since I don't have another one."

"On your way to see Kamille?" Hayato asked genially.

"I don't think I'll be able to do anything else until I do." Four replied quietly.

"Well, I imagine Amuro's with him, so we'll have a little meeting in his room. Even though he won't be fighting tomorrow, I'm sure Kamille couldn't stand to be kept out of the loop." They walked down to Kamille's room in silence, each having plenty of thoughts to keep them occupied. As they rounded the last corner, they were surprised to see Kamille staggering down the hall, flanked by Amuro and the medic.

"Well, I'm glad you can walk, at least." Hayato smiled.

"Hey." Kamille looked up, a smile on his face. Beltorchika let out a snort when she noticed Kamille's missing tooth, and quickly tried to pretend that she had to cough when Amuro turned to glare at her. Four and Kamille noticed none of this though. They were both alternating between looking at each other and looking at the floor. It was almost as if both of them seemed to think the other was mad at them.

"I'm sure you two want some time alone," Hayato continued, "but we're going to have a little strategy session in Kamille's room first."

"Huh? Why my room?" Kamille was surprised.

"Because you probably need to lie down, but I want you to be at the meeting." Hayato responded.

"Well, I could stand to lie down." Kamille admitted. At that, the Amuro opened the door to his room, and they slowly filed inside. After a minute where they scrounged the surrounding rooms for chairs, they all sat down around Kamille's bed, on which he was lying motionless. Four was seated just to his right, still looking nervous.

"All right, first thing's first." Hayato began. "How's Kamille doing?"

"Well, the good news is, no broken bones." The medic said. "Technically, he can use his arms right now, though I'm sure it'd hurt like hell. He definitely needs to take it easy for a while, though."

"Some painkillers would help." Kamille added.

"Very true." The medic nodded.

"All right, I'd already planned on it, but Kamille will definitely remain abourd the Audhumla until we have a shuttle or HLV secured tomorrow." Hayato announced. "I also have some more bad news." There were several raised eyebrows in response to this. "A category 3 hurricane will be making landfall at the New Guinea base at almost the exact same time we do. Hopefully, we can launch our attack while the eye is passing overhead, but if not, we're going to have to be careful to move WITH the wind, not against it."

"This just gets more and more interesting." A faint smile appeared on Amuro's face. "Actually, I think we should wait until the eye passes before we attack. The combined effects of the wind, rain, and Minovsky particles should make the Titans practically blind. If we attack while the storm is raging, they won't know we're there until it's too late."

"Good point." Hayato nodded.

"Amuro, I'm sure you've been itching to get your hands on the Gundam." Kamille broke in. "Looks like now's your chance."

The faint smile got a little bigger, and Amuro leaned forward. "I have been itching to get my hands on the Gundam." Amuro nodded. "But it'll be going back into space tomorrow. I think I'll stick with what I'm familiar with, and stay in the Rick Dias." Kamille raised his eyebrows. "The pilot of the Gundam should be Four, if that's okay with her."

Four looked more than a little surprised. "I don't mind fighting the Titans, but do you really want to give me the Gundam? Isn't it kind of the AEUG's star mobile suit?"

"You'll probably end up being one of the AEUG's star pilots." Amuro grinned. "So I'd say it's a good fit. But anyway, based on how you handled the Gundam in the battle just now, I'm more than comfortable with having you pilot it."

"That goes double for me." Kamille nodded, then winced as the action moved the muscles in his shoulders slightly. "If I can't be in the Gundam, you're the one I'd want to replace me."

"Kamille..." Four seemed to relax a little as he smiled at her. "But what'll we do when you're well again?"

Kamille's heart soared at Four's use of the phrase 'what'll WE do'. "We'll worry about that when the time comes. Besides, Anaheim's working on something called 'Project Zeta' right now, so we'll probably be getting some new suits pretty soon."

"Anyway..." Hayato stood up. "That's good for now. I'll come and update you Kamille, when we know more about the hurricane." At that, everyone but Four stood up to leave. Amuro was the last one out, and the last thing he saw as he was shutting the door, was Four scooting her chair around so that she was facing Kamille.

"You've had a big grin on your face since Kamille got back." Beltorchika observed as Amuro fell into step beside her.

"Oh?" Amuro looked thoughtful. "I guess I'm just glad things worked out better for Kamille than they did for me."

"Are you talking about the Zeon pilot?" Beltorchika asked softly.

Amuro turned to her, surprised. "How did you-? Never mind, you must have talked to Mirai." He shook his head. "I don't think this is a subject you want me to talk about."

"Because?" She smiled sweetly.

Amuro sighed. "Have it your way then. Because... If Lalah had survived, we probably would have ended up together. I'd like to think so, anyway."

"She died... to save you?" Beltorchika hazarded a guess.

"No, she died to save Char." Amuro said bitterly. "I'm the one... who killed her." He closed his eyes.

"Amuro... I'm sorry." Beltorchika whispered.

Amuro opened his eyes, but stared at the floor. "Me too."

.

"I'm so sorry, Kamille." Four had her hands folded, eyes closed.

"I know." Kamille said gently. "But I'm the one who should be sorry, not you."

"What?" Four's eyes opened in surprise. "What do you have to be sorry about?"

"I should have realized what you were feeling sooner. If I hadn't been so dense, I would've had you out of that Psyco Gundam before we left Hong Kong."

"Kamille..." Four squeezed his right hand with her left, trying not to move his arm. "You tried really hard, I know. I just wasn't listening to reason. I guess that's why you got through to me when you finally stopped being reasonable." They both smiled at that. "There's one other thing that's bothering me though." Four's smile faded fast.

"What's that?" Kamille squeezed her hand back, wincing slightly at the effort.

"Kamille... I'm not sure I can be the person you want me to be."

"When did I ever ask you to be anything?" Kamille smiled slightly.

Four smiled back. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Which is probably why you said it."

Kamille sighed. "You want me to tell you all the hopes for the future I have about the two of us? I have enough self control to not be that stupid."

Four looked away from him. "I don't know, maybe it's because... until today, I didn't think I'd have a future. It's just, you said you love me..."

"And I meant it." Kamille was quick to add.

"Well, there's a lot of baggage that goes with that." Four sighed. "I'm amazed by the effect I seem to have on you. That scares me a little. And the effect you have on me... That scares me too. I mean, love leads to so much else... so many life changing things... Do you really want to spend your life with me? Make love to me?" Kamille blushed like crazy at that, but she didn't seem to notice. "Marry me? Have children with me?"

Kamille was fairly wide-eyed now, but he recovered his composure quickly. "Wow, usually these kinds of questions don't come up until two people have been going out for quite a while. But, to answer... Yes, God yes, I don't see why not, and definitely not NOW, but eventually." It was Four's turn to be wide-eyed. "Four, it sounds like you're afraid of getting hurt. But that's the risk you run in any relationship. C'mere." To Four's amazement, Kamille sat up and stretched his arms out. She sat down next to him on the bed, then let herself be enfolded in his arms.

"Kamille, doesn't this hurt?" She whispered.

"Like hell." He responded. "But I'm trying to make a point and be romantic at the same time." He smiled. "And you're totally ruining it."

"I'm sorry."

"Shh. The point is... Are you going to get hurt by this?"

Four finally returned the embrace. "Only if it stops." She whispered. She could feel the tears welling up again, but for a second she tried to stifle them and just enjoy the moment. It didn't work though, and a few seconds later, she couldn't keep a sob from escaping through her throat.

"It's okay, Four." Kamille whispered. "It's okay..."

"It's just... not fair!" She sobbed, and Kamille knew exactly what she meant. "It's not fair!!"

"I know." Kamille said simply. "But it will be. I promise. And if we can't get your old memories back, then we'll at least make a lot of good new ones. I promise." Neither said anything else. Kamille just sat there, enduring the pain in his arms as Four cried into his chest, and didn't move a muscle.

.

"Even with words,  
there are things that cannot be conveyed.  
I still hadn't realized that.

"The lost dream of holding you  
by my side...  
You said,  
"Don't give it up!"

"The farther apart we are,  
The closer you feel.  
Even my loneliness turns into strength  
when I think of you.

"What pierces my painful chest  
is the fragment of a dream.  
Believe once more in the miracle  
that is our chance meeting." - Gundam Seed Destiny, Ending Song One: "Reason"


End file.
